Death of Grandmother Elisabeth Schwebel Feick

"She died young" is all we heard and no one knew why or the circumstances of her death. A second cousin of my mother in law first got the date of death for grandmother Elisabeth Schwebel Feick from the archive in Groß-Biberau, Hesse, Germany for me. August 22, 1938, was a bit of a surprise as my late father in law once told me he barely knew his mother since she died young, He would have been 15 when she died. My brother was about that age at my mother's death and he remembers her very well and fondly. It made a little more sense when my sister in law told me that her Dad had said his mother was ill for  quite a long time and he had to do many of the household chores.

I found the record of her death a few weeks back. It contains quite a bit of information...written in old German script. Oh boy, this was a bit difficult but not impossible thanks to some great internet  tutorials on reading German script. I have included those sites to the left of this blog in the event they can help others as they did for me. This was my first try at the old script and hopefully I have learned some tricks for future finds.

Hesse, Germany Deaths 1851-1955, Ancestry.com, Provo, UT accessed 24 Jan 2017

• #1030 death recorded in Darmstadt, August 22, 1938
• Elisabeth Feick, maiden name Schwebel
• Lutheran
• lived in Groß-Bieberau, Dieburg
• died August 20, 1938 at 8:45am
• Darmstadt City Hospital
• the deceased was born March 25, 1897 in Reinheim, Dieberg (24th birth that year)
• father Friedrich Schwebel, master cabinetmaker now deceased who lived in Reinheim
• mother Margarethe Schwebel, maiden name Wörtche, now deceased who lived in Reinheim
• married to master cabinetmaker Georg Ludwig Feick who resides in Groß-Bieberau
• marriage certified as #10 in Groß-Bieberau April 29, 1922
• death reported by the hospital in Darmstadt
• cause of death Myomal hemorrhage, heart weakness after surgery
• name of notary and his certification credentials

. "Myomal Hemmorhage" would seem to be the ultimate outcome of some sort of female illness. As a nurse I believe a plausible explanation may be advanced endometriosis. Without the medications of today it could be quite extensive, debilitating and painful. It would also be a possible explanation for Ludwig and Else having just one child in their fifteen years of marriage. Endometriosis could lead to infertility. Perhaps surgery was an attempt to remove adhesions and eleviate some of her pain. Perhaps the surgery itself caused the hemorrhage or she began to hemorrhage as a result of lesions and the surgery was a last ditch, futile effort to stop the bleeding.

Else was forty one years old. It is really unfortunate that we have no photo of Elisabeth. I had believed I had found the name of Elisabeth's parents previously in another family tree but now, with this death record, I have the proof that she was indeed the daughter of Friedrich and Margarethe Schwebel.

Rest in peace Grandmother Feick

your grandchildren never knew you

Elisabeth Schwebel Feick

b: March 25, 1897 Reinheim, Hesse, Germany

d: August 20, 1938 Darmstadt, Hesse Germany

**click on document to enlarge for easier viewing**